October 10 is the international day of mental health and the media and institutions will remember the widespread anxiety and depression in our society. Children and young people are no exception, and another dramatic reality has long been visible: suicide.

The last course, for the first time, was launched in the schools and institutes of the CAPV a protocol to combat suicidal thinking and attitude, and data indicate that, on average, two daily protocols were activated in Bizkaia, almost one daily in Gipuzkoa and one alert every two days in Álava. This is what El Diario Vasco has published.

They have 1,800 teachers trained in the subject and one of the objectives is to detect the student who may have a suicidal intention. In cases where the protocol has been activated, the profile is varied, but they are often students without a group of friends who are isolated or excluded. One of the priorities is that not only the teacher, but also the children and young people know how to recognize signs and that they are active so that they can tell if a colleague or colleague looks bad.

“You can’t look elsewhere”

At a time when the number of students with specific support needs is increasing considerably, the functions of teachers are the subject of debate in the educational community. In this sense, psychologist Mireia Centeno states that the predisposition of teachers to respond to the socio-psychological and emotional situation of students is more and more frequent, "or at least we are more and more aware of the need for this predisposition, among other things because we are increasingly talking in society about all this". In the opinion of Professor Artizar Susperregi, "after all the situation exploits you sooner or later, you cannot look elsewhere. You can get very demanding and be a rigid teacher with the delivery of didactic material, blind to you, to the point of scary students, but if it does not accompany you the situation bursts with the next course professor".

There will also be teachers who think differently, as Professor Agurtzane Martínez stressed: "There will be teachers who think that their job is not to become a psychologist and who have enough to give math, that if the child needs something else, another professional must be in order to respond to those needs. And with teachers who have sensitivity, it's easy, but with those teachers who have another attitude, it's very difficult to work and change their mindset."

The two preceding paragraphs (and some keys to deepening the subject) are found in the following ARGIA round table: How to turn school into a safe psychological space.

On the other hand, last December the Code of Suicide was launched in Navarra, a code that can be activated by psychiatrists and psychologists, if it is detected that someone has suicidal thoughts, and that allows monitoring and special resources through the collaboration of different professionals in the sector. Since then they have activated at least 243 Suicide Codes.